Bannock County’s Planning and Development Council will take public comment Thursday on a proposed rewrite of the county’s land use ordinance, including development standards near cities and rules for certain energy facilities.
The meeting begins at 6 p.m. Oct. 29 in the council chambers at Chubbuck City Hall, 290 E. Linden Ave. The proposal remains subject to change.
Development and energy provisions
County officials have spent about two years preparing the revision after completing the comprehensive plan. The draft would combine two or three existing ordinances into one document, replacing a process in which builders previously consulted three or four separate code sections.
Among the proposed changes is removal of open-space requirements for builders in areas of city impact. The change is intended to reduce housing costs and would not apply to rural parcels. The draft also changes rules governing agricultural land divisions and adjusts density requirements near cities.
It includes development standards for solar facilities and small modular nuclear reactors, covering potential locations, acreage, setbacks and zoning. The ordinance itself would not authorize any particular project.
Jeff Hough said the proposed standards would give developers clearer direction. “We are just creating the guidelines for developers that if they want to come here, they know what they can and can’t do,” Hough said.
Commission hearing to follow
After Thursday’s hearing, the Planning and Development Council may recommend approval, revisions or additional consideration to the Bannock County Commission. The commission must conduct its own public hearing before voting. Hough said commission consideration is anticipated in mid-November.
“It’s still a two-part process that the public will have input on both steps of the process,” Hough said.
The current draft does not address data centers. A county moratorium on data-center projects remains in place for a few more months, while officials plan to consider a separate data-center ordinance around the first of the year.
The county has posted the full proposed ordinance on its dedicated webpage. Hough encouraged residents to review the document before attending the hearing or submitting comments.